ISL 2019 | If we win one or two games, the confidence will come back, believes Nelo Vingada

01/26/2019

Nelo Vingada has stated that the players in his team are still lacking in confidence but was quick to add that as soon as they have a victory or two in their kitty, the team would be up and running. After the resumption of the ISL, Kerala Blasters played out a home draw against ATK yesterday.

The Indian Super League is back and running after a small break to accommodate the AFC Asian Cup. The first match was played between the Kerala Blasters and ATK and resulted in a draw. While the match looked like it was headed towards a goalless draw, the final few minutes saw a goal each from both teams. Nelo Vingada, Blasters’ new coach, seemed pretty satisfied with his boys’ performance.

“We have to understand that the players are human beings. I believe the players still don’t have the right confidence to play. If you win one or two games, this confidence can come back. With confidence, this team can play 30 per cent more and maybe with more time working, maybe 10 per cent more. But I have to be honest. I have to say that many things the team did today came from the past. The players I think feel much better now,” Vingada told the official ISL website.

Edu Garcia scored in the 85th minute of the match for ATK to put them ahead but not for a substantial time period as a self-goal by Gerson did the job for the Blasters. The Blasters coach though was full of praise for the opposition goal-scorer and stated that it was the smart-work in the free-kick did the job for ATK.

“Their goal was from a free-kick. The player was very smart. He kicked the ball intentionally near the ground. I think now the mental approach of the players is to win. To watch a game without spectators to be honest made me unhappy. I think the players deserved more spectators. I have no doubt that this team is ready to accept any chances. The players can play anywhere and not feel inferior to any team,” he added.

On the other hand, ATK coach Steve Coppell was a disappointed person and stated that they did not have that edge to finish-off the match. He also rued the fact that his boys gave away the possession too easily which made it difficult for them to score any goals. A lead in the 95th minute had given a hope to the ATK coach that they might eke out three full points from the match but they missed by a whisker.

“I think it was a question of that. We had an awful lot of possession. When we looked up, we saw a lot of yellow shirts. They had an awful lot of people behind the ball. But then they were very good at breaking out from their position. We gave the ball away too cheaply too often. But it's difficult to break. My two center-halves look up, can’t find the center-forward. Edu Garcia occasionally. Wide players were coming in trying to receive the ball. But there were a lot of yellow shirts behind the ball. We didn’t have a cutting-edge except Edu,” Coppell said.

With only one point from the match, the road to the top four has not become any easy for ATK. In the same vein, the coach stated that had they pulled off the game they would have been in a better position to make it to the knockouts. Their opponents though look all but out of the tournament after this draw.

“At the moment our dressing room feels as if we have been beaten because there wasn’t much to choose between the teams. It wasn’t an attractive game. When we got our noses in front with four minutes to go, I thought we can’t ask for a better position. They were bound to throw men forward. The goal, I think, came off Gerson Vieira. If we could have got three points here, it would have a really good springboard for us to push on. We just have to be better to make the playoffs. We’ll keep pushing.”

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ISL 2019 | If we win one or two games, the confidence will come back, believes Nelo Vingada

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